Here is a delicious recipe for a Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup that I shared with some friends at a Christmas party just recently. It was decided that the polyester Christmas sweaters we were told to show up in were not necessary to keep us warm after eating this soup. So enjoy this soup with friends or family or make a big batch and store in the freezer for a cold winter night.

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup.

Soup is one of my favorite things to cook, and this one is so easy you actually make in the oven and simply puree together with stock. I like to cook in big batches so I can share with friends or freeze excess, but feel free to scale back the ingredients if you like:

10 tomatoes, cored and quartered

4 red peppers, seeded and quartered

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

3 onions, quartered

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper

5 cups vegetable or chicken stock (or water with extra sea salt)

Toss tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and arrange skin side down in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the skins start to collapse and the onions soften and brown.

Peel the garlic, dump all the vegetables into a big bowl or pot, and puree with a hand blender
Alternatively, put batches in blender and blend until smooth. Add stock and spices, and season to taste.

“Nutritional benefits can motivate some people to incorporate vegetables into their diets, but for most people taste is the key”